Diode pumping of Nd:YAG lasers and other rare earth lasers has been an active and productive area of investigation. However, the fixed frequency output of Nd and other rare earth doped lasers makes them a poor choice for applications requiring frequency agility in a compact and efficient device. In addition, the narrow absorption linewidths that are typical of many rare earth-doped lasers restrict the pump bandwidth to 1 or 2 nm. This requires a compromising of the high cost of a narrow linewidth diode array with the low efficiency of a broad bandwidth array. An example of a laser relying on an alexandrite (chromium-doped chrysoberyl (Cr:BeAl.sub.2 O.sub.4)) gain element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,019 to Richard Scheps entitled "Laser Diode-Pumped Tunable Solid State Laser".
Thus, a continuing need exists in the state of the art for a solid state laser having a gain medium with broad pump absorption bands, generally speaking in the 610 to 700 nm range, that is pumped by at least one visible laser diode and with an output that is broadly tunable over a range in excess of 100 nm.